Reports that Ethiopian Airlines is sending the "black box" from the 737 MAX that crashed on Sunday killing all 157 aboard to Europe rather than the U.S. It's what The Globe & Mail calls "the latest sign of the world's growing distrust of the United States on aviation safety issues."

A statement from Sara Nelson, head of the union representing 50,000 flight attendants at United Airlines and elsewhere, about the decision, finally, to ground the 737 MAX in the United States. Specifically, 22 key words from it:

"It is good news that the 737 MAX will now get the focus it needs to address the concerns of undetermined safety issues. We must focus on the needed fix, rather than the uncertainty of flight.

"Lives must come first always. But a brand is at stake as well. And that brand is not just Boeing. It's America. What America means in international aviation and by extension in the larger world more generally--that we set the standard for safety, competence, and honesty in governance of aviation." [emphasis added]

That's interesting. Safety and lives come first. But brand comes second. I hadn't thought of it that way.

We don't know if there's anything wrong with the 737 MAX, of course; that's the point of grounding it during an investigation. It could well be the accidents themselves were just that: coincidental accidents.

Boeing itself says that while it has "full confidence in the plane," it supports the decision to ground it "out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public."